Holders for films, sheets, and the like



Jan. 15, 1957 B. R. MCNUTT 2,777,372

HOLDERS FOR FILMS, SHEETS AND THE LIKE Filed Jan. 18, 1954 5/// M "/VU z INVENTOR.

United States I.Patent O HOLDERS FOR FILMS, SHEETS, AND THE LIKE Bill R. McNutt, Houston, Tex.

Application January 18, 1954, Serial No. 404,592 4 claims. (C1. 95-695 This invention relates to new and useful improvements in holders for films, sheets, and the like.

An object of this invention is to provide a new and improved holder for film, sheets, and the like such as X-ray lm, wherein the iilm or sheet is held against both lateral and longitudinal movement in the holder.

An important object of this invention, lis to provide a new and improved holder for film, sheets, and the like, such as X-ray tilm, wherein means are provided for securely holding the lm or sheet in a predetermined position on the holder, said means including adjustable members for adjusting the holder lto accommodate different sizes of films or sheets.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and l improved holder for film, sheets, and the like, wherein a pair of corner members are provided for engaging the corners of the iilm or sheet and wherein said corner members are so mounted on the holder that they can be adjusted laterally and longitudinally simultaneously to adjust the holder for holding dilerent predetermined sizes of films or sheets. v

The construction designed to carry out the invention will hereinafter be described, together with other features thereof. v

The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of the following specification and by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, wherein an `example of the invention is shown, and wherein:

Figure l is an elevation illustrating the holder of this invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2 2 of Figure l.

Figure 3 is a sectional view illustrating'an enlargement of a view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an isometric view illustrating the construction of one of the corner members of the holder.

Figure 5 is a view taken on line 5--5 of Figure 3.

As shown in the drawings, the numeral designates the frame of the holder of this invention. At the lower end of the frame 10, a supporting or base bracket 12 is mounted for supporting the lower end of a film or sheet such as an X-ray film F (shown in dotted lines in Figures l and 2). For engaging the two upper corners of the film F so as to conline the film F against the lateral and longitudinal movement, corner members 14 and 15 are provided on the frame 1i), and as will be explained, such corner members 14 and 15 are adjustable longitudinally and laterally for holding diierent predetermined sizes or" the film F.

The frame 10 is generally rectangular with an upper frame member 10a, a lower frame member 10b and side frame members 10c and 10d. The lower supporting bracket 12 is in the form of a right angle which is connected lto the lower frame member 10b (Figure 2) to provide a laterally extending groove ldfor the reception of the lower end of the lm F.

Disposed substantially centrally and extending longi- 2,777,372 Patented Jan. 15, 1957 ICC tudinally of the frame 10 between the upper frame member 10a and the lower frame member 10b is a central guide 16 which includes parallel members 16a and 16b which are spaced from each other to provide a longitudinal guide slot 17. Also mounted in the frame 10 are inclined guide rails or members 18 and 20, with the guide rail 18 being formed of substantially parallel guide members 18a and 18h with an inclined guide slot 19 formed therebetween. The guide rail members 18a and 1812 are joined to the frame 10 at the upper right hand corner and are inclined downwardly and inwardly with the lower ends thereof being joined to the frame at substantially the midpoint of the lower frame member 10b and adjacent to the central guide 16. Similarly, the inclined guide rail 20 has substantially parallel guide members 20a and 2011 which are spaced from each other to provide an inclined guide slot 21 therebetween. The upper ends of the guide members 20a and 20b are joined to the frame 10 at the upper left hand `corner thereof while the lower ends of such members are joined to the frame 10 at substantially the midpoint of the lower member 10b and adjacent to the central guide 16. As illustrated, the guide members 18a and 20h are actually attached to the central guide members 16b and 16a, respectively, while the guide members 18b and 20a extend down and are actually secured to the lower frame member 10b. Such construction locates the inclined guide slot 19 on a line which extends from the upper right corner of the frame 10 to the midpoint of the lower frame member 10b; the inclined guide slot 21 is similarly but oppositely located on a line extending from the upper left hand corner of the frame 10 to the midpoint of the lower frame member 10b. Although the invention is not to be limited to such construction, it will be `evident that it facilitates the determination of the sizes of the lm F which the holder will accommodate since each corner member is in effect on the equal sides of an isosceles triangle which is formed by the equal length slots 19 and 21 and the upper frame member 10a which serves as the base of the triangle.

An adjusting cross bar or rail 22 is positioned behind the central guide 16 and the inclined guides 18 and 20 and such cross rail includes substantially parallel members 22a and 22h which are spaced from each other to form a lateral guide slot 23 therebetween. An upwardly extending ear 22e on the upper cross member 22b is positioned substantially midway between the ends of the cross rail 22 and an opening 22d through the ear 22C is aligned with .the longitudinal slot 17 in the central guide 16 for the reception of a retaining bolt 26 having a bolt head 26a on one end and external threads 26b on the other end thereof. A spring 27, which is preferably a coil spring, is positioned on the shank of the bolt 26 and is held under compression between the rear surface of the ear 22e and a nut 28 threaded on the threads 26b of the bolt 2,6. By maintaining the spring 27 under compression with the nut 28, the cross rail 22 is frictionally held in any predetermined position on the central guide 16. lt will be evident that the bolt head 26a is substantially larger than the width of the slot 17 to prevent the bolt 26 from passing through the slot 17. Thus, the spring 2'7 with the bolt 26 and the nut 28 holding same serve to provide a locking means which permits sliding movement of the cross bar 22 relative to central guide 16 on the frame 10 when desired, but which normally maintains the cross bar 22 in a stationary position on the central guide 16.

The corner member 14 is formed in a right vangle shape so as to tit the upper right hand corner of the lm F. To this end, an angle recess 30 is provided by the laterally extending walls 14a and 14b and the longitudinally extending walls 14e and 14d. A guide pin 31 is conneoted to the rear walls 14a and 14e of the member 14 and such pin 31 extends rearwardly therefrom through the inclined guide slot 19 and the lateral guide slot 23 (Figure 5). The guide pin 31 has a parallelogram cross sectional shape with the opposite parallel sides Sla and Elib having the same inclination as the slot 19 and slidably engages the inner surfaces of the guide members 18a and lSb, respectively. The upper 'and lower parallel surfaces 31o and 31d of the pin 3l are parallel to the slot 23 and slidably engage the inner surfaces of the cross members 2211 'and 22a, respectively. With the pin 3l so constructed, `the corner member 14 is at 4all times positioned with the laterally extending walls Ma and Mb substantially parallel to the cross rail 22. and the walls 14C and ldd substantially parallel to the central guide 16. Also, upon movement tof the cross rail 22 along the central guide 16, the corner member 14 is caused to travel both longitudinally and laterally with respect to the frame lt). The corner member ld is retained against displacement from the guides 1S and 22. by a retaining plate 35 (Figure 3) which has a threaded portion 35a thereon which is threaded into a correspondingly threaded opening Blf in the rear portion of the pin 3l. It will be understood, of course, that retaining devices other than `the plate 35 could be used with the pin 3l so long as there is no interference with the movement of the pin in the slots i9 and 23.

The corner member l5 is formed substantially identically with the corner member 14 except that the corner member l5 is oppositely facing so as to hold the upper left hand corner of the film F. Also, the side surfaces of the guide pin 37 of the corner member 15 preferably form a parallelogram with two of the sides being parallel to the slot 2l and in slidable engagement with the inner surfaces of the guide members 20a and 2017 and the other two surfaces being parallel to `the slot 23 and in slidable engagement with the inner surfaces of the guide members 22a and 221), so that the corner member l5 is held in its right angle position in the same manner as the corner member 14 and is likewise guided laterally and longitudinally upon movement of the cross rail`22 relative to the central guide lr6. It will be apparent that upon a downward movement of the cross member 22, the corner members 14 and l5 will be moved downwardly and in.- wardly toward each other while an upward movement of the cross member Z2 will move the corner members 14 and l5 upwardly and away from each other.

In the use or operation of the holder of this invention, the cross member 22 initially is positioned above the supporting bracket l2 a distance greater than the height of the film F to be inserted in the holder. The film F or any similar sheet is then positioned with its lower end in the bracket l2, after which the cross rail Z2 is lowered to bring the corner members TM and 15 downwardly to engage the upper right hand and upper left hand Icorners,

- respectively, of the film F. During such downward movement of the cross rail 22, the corner members 14 and l5 will of course move both downwardly and inwardly toward each other. Thus, when the corner members 14 and l5 are in engagement with the upper corners of the film l?, such film is held against longitudinal and lateral displacement. it will be evident that although the locking means including the bolt 26 and the spring 27 serve to frictionally hold the cross rail 22 in any predetermined position, the amount of friction provided the spring 27 can be regulated so that the cross rail is easily slidable to the different positions relative to the center guide 16. With the film F so held in position by the corner members 14 and l5 and the supporting bracket l2, the holder with the film can be used in an X-ray machine or can be used for any other purpose wherein 4it is desirable or necessary to hold a film sheet or the like.

When it is desired to remove the film F from the holder, the cross bar 22 is raised to move `the corner members f4 and l5 upwardly and outwardly with respect to the film F. If a smaller size of film such as F is to be held by the holder of this invention, the same procedure would be followed-v as for the positioning of the film F, but of course,

4. the corner members Y14 andv 1S would ybe moved downwardly to their dotted line position (Figure l) on the cross bar 22 (also shown in dotted lines).

By controlling the dimensions of the frame and the inclination of the inclined guide members 18 and 20, the holder can be accurately adjusted to hold various predetermined sizes of films, sheets, and the like. The invention has been described in connection with the positioning of a film such as an Xray film in the holder, because different sizes of such films are frequently utilized and must be positioned in the X-ray machines. For example, X-ray films range in size from 5 inches by 7 inches up to ll inches by 14 inches and larger and the holder of this invention readily accommodates the different sizes of X-ray films in use. It will be understood, however, that other films and sheets of similar construction likewise could be held by the holder of this invention.

The foregoing disclosure and description of the invention is illustrative and explanatory thereof and various changes in the size, shape and materials, as well as in the details of the illustrated construction may be made, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A holder for film and the like, including a substantially rectangular frame, a substantially central longitudinally slotted guide connected to the frame, an inclined slotted guide extending from one of the upper corners of the frame to substantially the midpoint of the lower portion of the frame, another inclined slotted guide extending from the other upper corner of the frame and extending to `substantial-1y the midpoint of the lower portion of lthe frame, a laterally extending slotted cross rail slidably mounted on said central guide and adapted to be moved to predetermined positions along the central guide, and retaining members adaptted to engage the edge portions of a film positioned on the frame and having slidable connection with the inclined guides and the cross rail, whereby longitudinal movement of the cross rail imparts a simultaneous movement .to the retaining members along the inclined guides for adjusting the retaining members both longitudinally and laterally with respect to the frame.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1, wherein the connection of the retaining members to the inclined guides and the cross rail includes, a pin connected to each of the retaining members, each of said pins extending kthrough the slot in its inclinedv slotted guide and the slot in the cross rail, and each of said pins being formed with a parallelogram cross sectional area whereby each of said retaining members is prevented from turning during its lateral and longitudinal movement.

3. The structure set forth in claim l, including a locking means for normally frictionally connecting said cross rail to said central guide but for permitting relative sliding movement of said cross rail relative to sai-d central guide, said locking means including a bolt extending Ithrough the slot in the central slotted guide and an opening in the cross rail, and a spring confined between said cross rail and a nut positioned on said bolt for applying a frictional pressure to the cross rail to hold same in frictional contact with the central guide.

4. A holder for film and the like, including a frame, a lower supporting bracket on the frame for receivingy the lower end of the film and extending completely across the frame so as to accommodate various sizes of film, retaining members mounted on the frame for engaging lthe upper edge portions of the film to hold same against lateral and longitudinal movement, means for moving the corner members laterally and longitudinally on the frame to accommodate. different various predetermined sizes of film as supported upon the bracket, said frame having connected therewith a central guide extending longitudinally of the frame, an inclined guide member for each` retaining member having connection with the frame, said means for moving the retaining members including a cross member having slidable connection with the central guide, and 790,290

means on the retaining members slidably connecting same 922,356

to the inclined guides and to the cross member. 2,431,217

References Cited inthe le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 239,675 Schmidt Apr. 5, 1881 6 Ditty May 23, 1905 Talbot May 18, 1909 Waldorf Nov. 18, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany Dec. 28, 1892 

